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No one said anything.
“Dismissed.”
Everyone silently left the room, their heads bowed.
Noah rubbed his forehead and sighed. He hoped that the worst was over and that the rest of the pack had learned a valuable lesson. The elders and everyone else would have to deal with the fact that Angie was a human and was their luna – or they wouldn’t. He didn’t care. However, they would treat her with respect.
Noah was heading out the door to talk to Angie when Elder Fredrick stopped him.
“You know that there had been a couple of skirmishes with the Demon Claw Shifter Pack on the west side of our territory. They have been trespassing on our territory, killing deer, and other animals. Our pack has been holding steady, but now the Demon Claw Pack has threatened war. You have to talk to Trent to calm the situation.”
Nodding, Noah picked up his phone and sent a text message to Angie. “I have to take care of a situation. Be back soon.”
He hit send, not knowing that the elder had a signal blocker in his pocket.
“If she has any questions, I’ll be glad to explain everything to her,” the elder said.
Noah looked at him suspiciously, knowing that the old man would do no such thing. Hopefully, the text message would suffice until he returned. He undressed and left everything in his office. Then, Noah shifted. With Rufus, Elijah, and Keith by his side, Noah headed west.
He didn’t see the elder grab his phone, erase the text message, and pocket the phone.
It took them several hours to get to the edge of the territory. Three Demon Claw Pack members were pacing at the boundary.
“We were expecting you,” one of the pack members said.
“I need to talk to Trent,” Noah said.
“He’s busy,” one of them said.
“I don’t have time for your bullshit. Either you let us pass or we rip you apart and pass anyway. My last couple of days have been very stressful, and frankly, I think that it would be fun to tear you apart. I could relieve some of the tension that’s built up,” Noah said.
Apparently, the wolves realized that he was serious because they escorted Noah, Elijah, and Keith to the ceremonial hall.
“I figured you would show up,” Trent said. “Please sit down.”
The older wolf shifter was sitting on a chair that made the King of England’s throne look like a stool. It had red velvet cushions. The frame was carved from mahogany.
Noah, Elijah, and Keith sat in the chairs indicated. Noah was amused that the arrangement was designed to make the three of them look up to Trent, as though the old shifter was some kind of god.
Smirking, Noah slumped in the hard chair. Elijah and Keith were just as amused. Rufus laid on the ground at Noah’s feet.
“A wolf shifter has a dog?” Trent scoffed, his eyebrows raised.
“He’s proven to be a true and loyal friend,” Noah said evenly.
“Hm. Interesting.” Then, he abruptly changed the subject. “Your people have been attacking mine.”
“That is because your people have been trespassing on Silent Paw land and poaching our wildlife. We have a right to defend ourselves.”
“Interesting spin on the situation. That is not what I’m hearing from my pack. According to my people, Silent Paw wolves are attacking for no reason regardless of what side of the line they are on.”
The two alphas bantered back and forth all night. Trent graciously invited them to eat dinner with him, even providing a large plate of food for Rufus. The alpha refused to speak about the situation after dinner. Instead, he had several women singing and dancing for entertainment. After a long night, Trent had them escorted to rooms at a high-end hotel.
Noah and Trent continued the discussion the next day after breakfast. Finally, at the end of the day, they decided that each pack would give up five feet of their territory along their borders. The strip of land would be patrolled by one Demon Claw shifter and one Silent Paw shifter. They both would instruct their shifters that they were not to cross the borders.
They both signed two copies of the agreement so they both could have a copy of the original. Noah put his in an envelope and mailed it home so he wouldn’t have to find a way to carry it through the forest.
“Let’s celebrate,” Trent said.
